Void Luck Ticket
by KillerCurrent
Summary: After the Batter's defeat at the hands of the Judge and his companions, Zacharie suddenly found himself sucked into a mysterious green portal and taken to a world beyond the perspective of the puppeteer. Landed by mysterious circumstances through the summoning of a small, pink-haired zero, will the mask merchant be able to return HOME? Or will he be better OFF in this world?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: The fic follows the HOME verse and rest in piece, FelixtheJudge. Also, I posted this on the wrong category from earlier. Big mistake on my part, so my humblest apologies**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own HOME, OFF, or Familiar of Zero/Zero no Tsukaima, if I did, the Batter would have a rival called the Pitcher and Siesta wouldn't be flanderized.**

* * *

 **Prologue: Into another end**

Business went as usual, another customer satisfied, and another roll of credits went down to the counter. Zacharie seemed to have gotten used the silence surrounding him at his shop at this point and he was basically content. Then again, it was the same experience with Pablo and his puppeteer, even though they would come by every few minutes to purchase something, it was still bare and quiet to wherever he set his shop up. Even prior to Zacharie's misadventure with the Judge and the puppeteer, the quietness was prominent.

Even with his job as a merchant getting more demanding due to the progress the people have been making as of late and his array of rivals rising on the horizon, the masked merchant still found more reasons to laugh and smile rather than to frown.

It's been a few months ever since the linguistic Judge, otherwise known as Pablo, and his three feline companions, the stray alley cat Alain, his librarian brother Valerie, and the ditzy dancer Jozlyn, defeated the Batter. After the revelation of his dark plot to purify, meaning to cleanse and destroy, the world, the agent of the nothingness met his end at the claws of his slayers which were the previously mentioned cats.

From what Zacharie heard from the verbose feline's story, the battle against the Batter was similar to that of four warriors battling against a titan in a last stand to save the world. Seeing as how he isn't erased from existence yet and the world had retained its color since the incident, the masked merchant believed the Judge's tale.

Of course, the Judge's story, not to mention his entire quest, wouldn't have happened without the help of that mysterious puppeteer, who had vanished from the scenes since then.

Currently, Zacharie was just passing the time by observing the zone's citizens, otherwise known as Elsens, as he sat behind the counter in his shop that was located at the entrance of Zone 2's mall. This was his prime location, namely because of how popular and central he is at the mall. Prior to the rise of his recent competitors, the masked merchant had a very good grip of people's general purchases, namely the demands over the Luck Tickets and the Jokers, the former was vital for recovery and the latter had the ability of raising corpses back from the dead with their health in sufficient condition.

Over the last couple of months, Zacharie had relatively been improving his products through various experimentations. Such as when his attempt to fuse a bottle of smoke, a piece of Abaddon's meat, and a piece of Belial's meat that resulted in a strangely convenient kind of remedy that helps the breather recover while healing them of their madness. The experimentation resulted in a boost in his sale, mostly from purchases made by Elsens who was at the brink of stress and trying to find a less addictive alternative to sugar.

As of late however, Zacharie's experimentations have led to a few duds with no potential breakthrough coming in. Then again, he could only have so much time in the world to dedicate for his experiments because other than being a merchant, he was also responsible for overseeing his theme park in Zone 2, which was another large responsibility altogether.

It's been a few minutes since his last costumer left and the silence rolled in once again. The masked merchant could only give himself a quiet sigh before he closed his eyes.

" _This is going to be a long day."_ Zacharie thought as he found himself slowly in the midst of dozing off on his stand.

* * *

" _Why couldn't a day just end without anyone spitting insults at me?"_ A certain pinkette student thought as she sat in the middle of her professor's class. Honestly, she could've done the whole day without the additional sting of her peer's harsh words.

"Mister Gramont, please quiet down," The balding and spectacled professor up front near the chalk board said as he stopped the lecture and looked to faced another student, a redhead that sat by another female student with light blue hair. "You too, Miss Zerbst. I expect you both to listen to this lecture without making another jest towards Miss Valliere, understood?"

With the stern words from the professor, the two students quieted down. The silence followed through the class' laughter and insults towards the pinkette. She could still hear murmurs and whispers surrounding her though she could ignore that and just continue writing down the professor's lecture.

Often in days like this, the pinkette would just find herself back at her room, staring up the ceiling and wondering if her fate is bound to change towards another day. However, she couldn't be more excited in anticipation for what was to come tomorrow in class. Other than being a chance to prove and redeem herself to her peers, it was also a chance to finally have something to rub against the face of her rival Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst, otherwise known as "The Cow" in the pinkette's eyes.

As if the day was going with her anticipation, the lecture was ended and the balding professor, otherwise known as Jean Colbert, adjourned and dismissed the class. The students seemed to give themselves a sigh of relief as some of them exited the room. The pinkette's excitement was heightened as she stood in front of her seat, gathered her notes in her robes, and headed towards the classroom's exit. However, before she was able to step outside the room, Professor Colbert's voice called her.

"Miss Vallière," Professor Colbert's voice made the pinkette turn to the table he sat in front of. "Have those insults been getting to you as of late?" The balding professor took note of the pinkette's behavior for the past couple of days but he felt better knowing it from her very own words.

"No," The pinkette answered his question with a quick and firm retort. The tense body language would've said otherwise to Professor Colbert but it seemed like the answer stemmed from something other than her anxieties. He couldn't directly tell but he felt like she was in anticipation for something.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Professor Colbert, I'm fine," A small fib wouldn't hurt then again, it probably wasn't a secret to the balding professor either way. For her, in some days, the assault of insults was bearable, but in other days, she just wanted to cry herself to sleep in her room once the day is over because of the teasing.

"I see. Well, alright then, Miss Vallière, I was just concerned for your well-being since for the past few days, I've observed that you seemed to be more forlorn than usual."

"Don't worry, sir, I assure you, I'm fine." She turned around and was about to step out of the room before she heard the professor's voice again.

"Oh, and make sure to attend class tomorrow, Miss Vallière, as it will be a special day for you and the other second years." Profess Colbert reminded before he started gathering his things from atop the desk.

She nodded to him before she completely stepped out of the room and continued walking back towards the student dormitories. The pinkette would have scolded angrily at herself for nearly forgetting about what was going to take place tomorrow. It was going to be the moment where she, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, was going to show her peers at the academy that she was more than Louise the Zero and that she was going live up to her family's name and expectations.

Once she made it back to her room, she quickly stared in front of the mirror, focusing her eyes towards herself before she stood straight. Louise then made sure that she locked the door before she stared herself straight in the eyes.

" _Tomorrow, I'll show them! I'll show them my true power as a mage,"_ She huffed at herself from within. _"Straighten yourself up, because the hour where your true honor will come!"_ She angrily scolded herself before she puffed and stared straight onto her pink eyes.

She was determined to prove her strength as mage, and to her, the moment of truth will come in the dawn's thereafter. She gave the mirror one last glance before she slowly opened the door and exited her room, heading off towards the academy's main dining hall.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Thanks for the warm reception, my dear readers.**

 **Review Replies:**

 _ShadeDurza - I'm guessing you saw the goof I made with the prologue posting? And thank you._

 _Ilikebob - And I'm assuming you saw it too?_

 _Guest reviewer - Thank you, much appreciated._

 _quentin3655 - Hell yeah, man. :)_

 _A Clever and Original Name - Well here you go._

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own OFF, HOME, or Familiar of Zero/Zero no Tsukaima, if I did, there'd be a lot more Burnts and they'd be a lot more dangerous to deal with.**

* * *

 **Chapter I: Another beginning**

As the morning was slowly beginning in Zone 2, Zacharie timidly woke up from his bed with a yawn. The masked merchant went home relatively late in the evening prior because of the late buyers that he had to handle in his shop. The masked merchant's eyes rose to the ceiling before he stood up and made his way towards the bathroom.

Starting the day the usual way, he first got around to washing up in the morning, changing his clothes, before setting himself down on his kitchen table to eat. Ever since the phenomenon of cycling time was introduced to the Zones just a few days prior, the masked merchant was still adjusting to how darkness would engulf the skies by night while the day still had the familiar brightness they've been used to.

If the Judge's puppeteer was still around, Zacharie would have gone and explained its whole concept. The thought of teaching the Judge's puppeteer the concept of time in a place that previously had it, long before anyways, earned a chuckle from the masked merchant.

Even though time and days did exist in the world, the only time of day the people could see was day itself. Night wasn't present by any means previously, so majority of the inhabitants assumed that a single day lasted for only twelve hours. Night added another twelve hours and thus forming the new day system following twenty-four hours.

The, currently, unmasked merchant finished his breakfast without a hitch before he went towardsthe small mirror that was in his living room, observing his facial features for a minute, scratching his black hair while another hand was rubbing his chin. He only needed a moment to scan his face before a chuckle aimed towards him escaped his mouth. He donned his regular toad mask back on his face as he grabbed his large backpack that was filled with his merchandise. He looped his arm through the strap before walking towards the door.

It was time for business.

* * *

The sun slowly rose at Tristain's Magic Academy as the students occupying the dorms were slowly starting to wake up for another day of learning. This included a certain pinkette who opened her eyes and got up from her bed to prepare herself for today.

As Louise was getting dressed in her uniform, she instantly remembered that today wasn't anything ordinary. It was the day where the second year students of the academy were going to summon their familiars. To any noble, their familiar would be a mark of their power, prestige, and a representation of their capability as a mage according to their affinity.

On one hand, Louise believed that her faith and luck will bring her the fortune of a familiar worthy of her power and to the name of the Vallière family. On the other hand, she also anxiously believed that the whole thing will be a proof of her failure to live up as a mage and that her all mishaps with her spells were only building up to it.

The pinkette however refused to believe the latter. Even with most of her spells often resulting in explosions and the injuries of fellow peers, she stubborn sting clings onto hope that one day she'll be able to prove to everyone that she is worthy of carrying her family's name and that her magic was to top everyone else's.

And for Louise, today will be that day.

Louise's gaze locked onto the mirror as she finished dressing up in her uniform. Her pink eyes bore a look of determination as she stared onto her own form. She gave a huff of contentment before she exited her room and headed towards the dining hall.

After an uneventful, uneventful being that the "Zerbst cow" was there to tease her as usual, breakfast, Louise found herself watching various students perform the ritual with Professor Colbert seeing the ceremony. The pinkette stood among her peers in the grassy courtyard of the Tristain's Magic Academic, an educational institution aimed to help young aristocrats hone and develop their magical abilities and potential.

Currently standing as a second year student, Louise was popular for one thing in the academy, and that is having every spell she conjures result into an explosion. Whether it is earth, fire, water, or wind, the pinkette had terrible luck when it came to her magical abilities. Even with her outstanding performance in terms of book knowledge she still earns the teasing of her classmates such. In the academy is there was one person who was known for being a chronic failure it'd be Louise.

Fortunately, Louise knew she would make them eat their words soon enough.

Among her peers, she could see a few familiars that were at least remarkable, such a few different animals here and there, plus one of the students were even able to summon a giant floating eyeball. Guiche Gramont, the boy was making fun of her yesterday in Coblert's class summoned a large mole as his familiar and earned a few laughs from classmates. Guiche's current main love interest, Montmorency Margarita La Fère de Montmorency received a small frog from the ritual. Meanwhile, Kirche, the Zerbst cow, summoned a fiery salamander, much to chagrin and envy of Louise.

But none of them were able to top the familiar summoned by Tabitha, a blue-haired wind mage and close friend of Kirche, which was a giant blue dragon that took flight. The summoning of the dragon made Louise a little anxious. There was no turning back for her as the last of the students took their turns in summoning their familiars. And the thought of the little bet she made with Kirche yesterday wasn't helping either.

"Has anyone else not taken their turn in the ritual?" Professor Colbert asked, as the odds seemed to shift in Louise's favor. She felt both dread and excitement when the ritual but in the end her dread somewhat over came her stubbornness.

"Zero hasn't summoned a familiar yet," Kirche's voice called out from her peers as everyone looked at the pinkette's direction.

So much for hiding.

"Miss Vallière, please step forward and summon your familiar," Colbert instructed as she hesitantly followed through.

From the top of her head two emotions dominated her at the moment; there was the sense of dread which lingered around ever since the beginning of the summoning ritual ceremony and excitement because this could be a chance for her to prove that her power is much than her peers give her for.

Slowly, Louise raised her wand up and took a deep breath as she tried to hold her hesitations back. A few murmurs from her peers were heard here and there, most of them were telling her to get it over with already. Over half of the classmates were expecting an explosion, an inference based on her past mishaps in the classrooms.

"C'mon, Zero, get it over with already!" One of her classmates yelled out.

With that, the pinkette then closed her eyes before mustered up enough courage and focus to continue on.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière," She began chanting as she swung her wand in her hand. "Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning…" She paused as she opened her eyes and waved her hand forward. "and bring forth, my familiar!" As the end of her chant a bright flash of appeared before her and the crowd surround her.

The flash of light was then followed by a powerful explosion.

The impact was power as it was able to blow away majority of the students that were surrounding Louise. With a few coughs, the students were able to get back onto their feet, brushing dirt over their uniforms before they aimed they aimed their glare at Louise.

"As expected of Zero," One of the students huffed as the pinkette herself got up from where she fell down, standing upright as she had her grip on her wand.

Through the estimation of how slow the haze and smoke left behind by the explosion was fading, it was a powerful explosion, much more than her usual failures. She felt dread and embarrassment growing from the back of spine.

Meanwhile, her peers seemed to be busy teasing and picking on her as Professor Colbert was approached.

"Way to go, Zero!" Kirche said with a slightly smug look on her face before she glanced at Tabitha, whose eyes were transfixed on the spot where the smoke of the explosion seemed to be delayed in fading off. "Tabitha, what's wrong?" The shorter bluette only narrowed her eyes from behind her spectacles as she attempted to see beyond the smoke only to have her suspicions confirmed.

There was someone standing there.

Soon, the trail of smoke caused by the explosion faded off which slowly revealed the figure standing in front of the spot where Louise stood.

* * *

Zacharie arrived at his shop in the front of Zone 2's mall a few minutes after he left his home. He carried his backpack through the mall entrance before he made it behind the counter.

Before anything else however, the masked merchant suddenly felt a small burst of power behind him. He turned towards the source of his disturbance. It was large green object of sorts, floating like one of those cube 'stations' that Pablo was talking about. The green object emanated power as it lit up the area up quite well.

Curiously, Zacharie took a few steps forward, with his backpack full of merchandise still on him. He wanted to poke the item but had a little bit of hesitation as it seemed like the green object might be a portal of sorts, in which case, the masked merchant didn't want to be the person to be sucked in. AT the same time though, the green object didn't seem to go away and the longer the masked merchant waited, the more his weary curiosity for the object grew.

But before he could come up with any sort of decision, Zacharie found himself being slowly drawn to the object by a strange force that seemingly had a strong pull on him. He wasn't given any time to get any sort of help for himself before the green object swallowed him whole, leaving his shop completely empty and still closed.

From the other side of the green object, the masked merchant confirmed that it was a portal and it brought him to the Nothingness, a familiar place to him and Pablo since they would often cross its realm whenever they travel to the different Zones without the use of the inter-zone transit rails. The all-too familiar whispers coming from the realm that crossed Zacharie's ears were pretty much a good reason why not too many of the common denizens use the nothingness as a means of travel.

The cryptic and silent whispers flooded the masked merchant's ears for about a few minutes before he found himself suddenly crossing into another realm, a bright one at that.

Zacharie made a slight groan as he slowly stood on whatever solid object he felt his feet standing on. He was a little dazed mostly from the fact that impact of him seemingly crashing onto the strange portal. His hand firmly held his head with a few coughs from his mouth because of the cloud of smoke that surrounded him. He slowly straightened himself up on his feet and was pretty much clueless to where ever the portal spat him out.

The masked merchant felt a slight warm on his skin as he guessed that he must've been sent in Zone 3's manufacturing ovens again. Oddly enough, his surrounding area was more open than an enclosed oven should be. However, the truth all became clear to him once the smoke started clearing.

Zacharie could not believe his eyes of what he saw next.

* * *

When Louise turned her head to the direction where Tabitha was pointing at, a look of surprise changed her look of dread from earlier. There was something there! She was successful after all! The feeling of fear over her failure was almost instantly replaced with joy from within as the pinkette and peers saw the humanoid slowly being revealed from the cloud of smoke.

Wait, did she just summon a human?

Louise quickly rubbed her eyes to make sure that she wasn't merely hallucinating. What she saw was a man wearing a white sweater with an insignia of a red heart on the middle of it along with black pants and shoes, followed by a strange white mask that bore two eyes and a strange mouth that formed a frown that seemed happy. Or was it a smile that seemed neutral? Other than the clothing of the stranger, Louise also took note of the large and stuffed backpack behind the man, the black hair on his scalp, plus his fairly average skin tone.

Before Louise or anyone else present could speak however, the stranger then turned his full attention to them, facing their direction slowly.

What followed were a few moments of silence, mainly the students just analyzing and going over the fact that Louise's summoning spell worked and that it summoned something interesting. Louise went over towards her familiar and as she did, she noticed how much taller he was by at least a few inches. The mask was a little unsettling for her though. Sure, she may have potentially summoned a plebian as her familiar but the mask would suggest something else otherwise.

"F-f-familiar?!" She wearily asked as the responded by slightly tilting his head downwards to face her.

Professor Colbert took his steps a bit further than his students, cautiously noting of Louise's familiar with his staff ready.

"Salut." Was her familiar's response, indicating that it did hear her. The masked seemed spoke to the pinkette with a friendly tone, in fact it sounded jovial even to greet her.

Louise sounded off a sign of relief before the laughter of her peers was heard from around her. She then realized that maybe they thought he was some sort of commoner. The backpack he was carrying made it seem like he was meant for backbreaking traveling, a common area of occupation for non-aristocrats.

Her face then expressed her embarrassment before she approached her professor.

* * *

Zacharie could only look in confusion as the pink-haired girl who walked up to him started talking with a tall bald man wearing glasses. However, his confusion grew as more things were added to his observations. First off, he remarked how none of the people around had white skin and not breathing smoke; second majority of them have hair with very strange colors at that; and third, there weren't just men around but there were actual females.

Could it be that had been sent somewhere else?

Provided that the portal he was sucked into is a mystery, Zacharie accounted for the possibility that he was no longer in his world but rather he was transported to another through the void. If that was the case then _what_ was responsible for summoning the portal.

Unfortunately for him, the masked merchant wasn't able to be given a chance to contemplate further as the pinkette slowly made her way back to him. She stomped as he heard the crowd of strangers wearing cloaks roar with laughter.

Was she doing funny or something?

Once she was right in front of him he heard her sigh with a tired inflection before she looked up at his face.

"Familiar, take your mask off." She commanded with a stern voice as the masked merchant was surprised that he could understand her. Guess the language barrier was something that he crossed effortlessly.

"For what reason, mi amigo?" Zacharie responded, suddenly getting a little bit of uncertainty from her request. "And who is this familiar you're referring to?" He quizzically asked as the people around him started laughing louder.

"He doesn't even know what a familiar is!" One of the people in the crowd yelled as the pinkette in front of Zacharie started fuming with her peers roaring with laughter.

From the corner of his eye, Zacharie saw a small blue-haired individual left with a large blue creature with wings. The masked merchant started slowly trying to recall whichever creature was related to what saw leaving with the glasses-clad blue-haired girl.

"Young man," Zacharie heard an older and more masculine voice before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head around to see the bald and bespectacled man behind him. "Miss Vallière here," He gestured to the short pinkette. "has summoned you as her familiar."

"Oh." Zacharie felt slightly more informed now.

"And would you please kindly take your mask off so she may be able to complete the contract?"

" _Contract?"_ Zacharie thought, he may have more things to learn about that he first assumed but for now he may as well just play along. The balding man seemed to be knowledgeable and smart towards the masked merchant, which reminded the masked merchant of Pablo.

"Ahh, alright then," Zacharie nodded to the balding man before slowly removing the toad mask over his face.

Now that her familiar's mask was off, Louise finally got a better look at his features. Huh. He appeared human in the least with his black hair intact. The gray eyes caught her off though but his fairly pasty skin made him not so different from everyone around her. She also noted of the small scars that were on his neck and his left arm.

"Now please, Miss Vallière, finish the ritual." Louise almost forgot about the fact why she was even there. She sighed before she formed the courage to get it over with.

"Go on, kiss him already, Zero!" One of her classmates egged as she hesitated for a mere second.

"You should consider yourself lucky, commoner, not many will get an opportunity like this." Louise declared to her familiar who tilted his head and raise an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, grant your blessings upon this creature and bind it as my familiar." After her chant, Louise then lifted herself upwards by her toes as her lips touched his.

Zacharie was taken by surprise when the so-named Miss Vallière moved in for a kiss. Honestly, it caught him off guard in a manner that his friend, Sugar, hasn't in a long time. Then again, the circumstances here presented before him were different. Was this part of the contract the balding man was talking about?

His kiss with the pinkette ended after about a few moments and as he saw her standing up properly, he felt an intense pain that suddenly stemmed from the back of his left hand. Slowly, Zacharie brought his left hand towards his view, seeing that a blinding light was slowly imbuing some sort of tattoo on him. The burning sensation he felt was very much agonizing however, he felt himself getting slightly weaker and weaker as each moment of pain passes.

Zacharie's sight got blurrier and blurrier plus his hearing was slowly fading away and before he knew it, he was struggling to stand straight on his own two feet. However as the intense burning pain on his left hand started going away, the masked merchant could only hear the rhythm of his heartbeat for a moment right before his consciousness started shutting down.

The last thing he heard was someone yelling around him as he felt the weight of his backpack filled with his merchandise behind him. His fingers couldn't cling to the mask as he released his grip on it.

" _Contract… contract… what kind of… contract… is this?"_ Were the last thoughts that entered the mind of the masked merchant before he was put into the realm of unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Sorry this one took so long. Life can really hold you back at times. :**

 **Review Replies:**

 _quentin3655 - You got that right. Who knows, maybe the Batter will make a debut at some point :3_

 _Ilikebob - Yep. But it's those damned runes and some letters that Zacharie can't get._

 _mrkillwolf666 - Here you go._

 _CapitalClassShip - I have proceeded as planned._

 _RougeIsRed - Alright then, just don't turn psycho if anyone tries to take your sugar. *wink wink nod nod*_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own OFF, HOME, or Familiar of Zero/Zero no Tsukaima if I did, the Batter would have the ability to throw actual baseballs to stun enemies.**

* * *

 **Chapter II: Some people to know**

Zacharie couldn't move an inch of his body as he felt himself trapped in a state of paralysis. He was used to getting palsied on rare occasions whenever specters haunted is shop back then or whenever his customers gets burnt and attack him but this was a different kind of pain. The masked merchant felt his entire body tightly constricted by an non-existent rope as he seemed to be getting choked by an unseen force.

The masked merchant could only move his eyes around the room while was completely helpless. The room in question was filled with a vast darkness and emptiness; it reminded Zacharie of the nothingness. He definitely heard the familiar whispers but they were seemingly more violent and louder, in contrast to the usually calm and silent voice that would past through his ears softly.

With each second in the nothingness that surrounded him, the tighter and tighter his punishment seemed to get. The strangulation was getting close to a breaking point.

Before his body succumbed to asphyxiation, the last thing Zacharie saw in the nothingness was a white and bright figure standing within a distance from him. The figure was familiar to Zacharie but the moment he caught sight of it, the unconsciousness kicked in and his mind faded off into the distance.

* * *

Zacharie's eyes opened wide as he awoke before he sat up from where he was lying down. He let out short pants of breath with his gray eyes slowly moving around the room. Four walls, a little small, and was dimly lit were his observations. He brought his right hand up to his face, his palm feeling his smooth skin as he realized that he wasn't wearing his mask.

The unmasked merchant got up on his feet, standing straight before rubbing the back of his neck. Before he was knocked out, he remembered the word contract and a small pink-haired girl kissing him in the lips before he unceremoniously fell to unconsciousness due to the burning pain he felt on the back of his left hand.

Speaking of which…

Zacharie brought his left hand to his sights, turning it over, before seeing the strange circle of writings that were on it. They weren't visible right away but Zacharie's eyes could see them slightly as his hand wand brought to the light of the room.

 _"What is this?"_ Zacharie thought as he scratched his scalp in confusion, trying to figure it out. It was definitely written in a language he's never heard of or seen. He tried to wipe or smudge it away using his right hand but to no avail. There was definitely no use for him to translate it without any help.

Zacharie then turned his attention to the bed that was on his right side before he looked down and saw that he was lying down on a pile of hay. Besides the bed, the room also had two cabinets and a large table.

"So, you've finally woken up," His train of curious thought was interrupted by a voice which caught him off guard. Zacharie looked up in front of him to see the pinkette from earlier, standing over him with her arms crossed over her chest and a tired frown over her face. "I've thought about it long and hard enough for me to get an ulcer, but I've given up." She declared, which got her a look of curiosity from the unmasked merchant.

"What do you mean?" Zacharie inquired, striking a raised eyebrow towards the pinkette as he sat.

" _Hmpf._ What else? I'm going to have you as my familiar," Louise answered with a somewhat upset yet prideful tone. She took note of the fact that she was able understand him earlier. "Be honored." She added.

"Alright." Zacharie took her words in even though they made no sense to him. "But would you mind it if I asked you a question about all this?"

"You? I am your master, you, as a familiar, should always refer to me as your master, understand?" Louise explained as her tone got more aggressive and impatient.

 _"Another one of these types, I see…"_ Zacharie thought. _"I guess I'm going to have to play along, otherwise I'd get myself nowhere."_ He noted.

"My apologies, master." Zacharie said, as he got up from the hay pile, dusting his pants clean as he saw that his backpack and mask were placed against one of the cabinets. At least they were safe with her and he hope that his backpack didn't give her much of a back pain. "Alright, master, may I ask you a few questions about this contract of ours?"

* * *

"I see…" Zacharie now had a little bit of bearing and knowing of the world he was currently in thanks to his master being so kind to provide him information. "So just to recall the information my master has relayed; I am currently in the kingdom of Tristain which exists in the continent of Halkeginia and my master currently studies in this institute which teaches the nobility of this society how to use their magical powers, am I correct?"

"Yes." Louise nodded, slightly impressed that was able to take the information she told him lightly.

"Also my master summoned me here as her familiar, a servant bounded to their master through contract that lasts until death." He finished. That last bit of information didn't sit too well with him but for the sake of not getting too emotionally unstable, he decided to just be indifferent with it. "And the runes in my hand are a symbol of my binding to my master and the familiar is a symbol of their master's true potential and power, is that correct?"

"Yes." She nodded again.

"Alright then." At least that bit of important information was cleared out of the way, Zacharie was at least glad to know that his so-called master wasn't anything related to the Batter. Which reminded him… "Master, for the sake of formalities, may I know your name?" The masked merchant formally asked.

"My name is Louise," The pinkette answered. "Louise de La Vallière." She finished. "What about you, familiar?"

"I am Zacharie." He gave her a respectful bow as he formally introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you, Louise." He added right before he heard her sigh.

"Why did my familiar turn out to be a young peasant?" Louise started, which earned her another curious look from Zacharie. "I wanted something cool like a dragon or a griffon!"

"Why do you refer to me as a peasant?" Zacharie asked. "And surely you realize that a human being is much better than an animal that you can simply flaunt because of their appealing size, strength, and capability." The masked merchant argued. "A human being, whilst ordinary, is still much more flexible than an animal in terms what they can achi—"

 _"SHUT UP!"_ She interrupted him with a yell, a flick of her wand, and a small explosion, which promptly blew him near the door, across her room. Were familiars going to this talkative and disobedient toward their masters if they could talk?

"Ouch." Zacharie groaned before he quickly got up from his spot and let out a sigh. Guess that's a place to talk about for another day. "Apologies, master." He said.

In response, Louise threw all of her worn clothing that she had for that day, specifically her uniform which comprised of her skirt, blouse, stockings, and underwear. Zacharie nonchalantly reacted by picking the clothes off him only to see his master wearing her nightgown.

"Go make yourself useful and wash those clothes for me!" She commanded, with anger showing for his insolence earlier.

"As you wish," Before Zacharie exited her room he went towards his mask and wore it over his face. "Can't have anyone steal my signature look now." He mused to himself with a laugh as he went out of her room with her dirty laundry.

Zacharie calmly walked through the halls as he contemplated his situation. He had to admit to himself, the air in Halkeginia was much fresher in comparison to what he's used to. He didn't notice it earlier due to the dilemma he was involved in. Free of smoke and people don't even wheeze when talking to him, he's already taking a like to the place. Maybe Pablo and Sugar would like it here too…

The masked merchant's thoughts were then swayed to the side when he saw a boy with a mop of blonde hair talking to a brunette girl while he walked downstairs. He took note of the different cape the girl wore. The boy with the blonde mop wore the same coat Louise did which made Zacharie think that they might belong in the same tier. He should really ask his master about it tomorrow so as to give it more clarity.

As the masked merchant passed them by he heard them muttering a few words about him. Zacharie paid them no mind but did take note of the information they were spouting.

"Hold on, you." Zacharie was about to fully leave the floor when he heard a masculine voice call him out. The masked merchant turned to see the blond mophead talking to him.

"Yes?"

"A peasant putting a noble through trouble and not even a word of thanks?" The blond boy asked with a pride, matter-of-factly tone.

"Oh, well, I suppose you have thanks," Zacharie said as he gave both of them a bow. "Salut." With that, he left the scene as he proceeded downstairs.

* * *

Back in her room, Louise was still fuming due to Zacharie's question earlier. She was mostly mad at him because he chose to argue with her. If only he knew or felt that her classmates were laughing at her earlier. They picked on her for summoning a lousy peasant instead of a powerful beast.

 _"If that peasant is the true testament of my power, then by Brmir above, I don't know how I'll be able to show myself as the pride of my family in the academy…"_ Louise wondered if Zacharie was enough of a reason for her family to be ashamed of her.

While Louise was mad at the masked merchant, she also pondered upon his words. Yes, while a griffin or a dragon would be a nice and powerful familiar, Zacharie was able to put a decent defense on the side of humans. While a human wouldn't be as powerful as the two beasts she wanted, a human would be versatile and dynamic, not to mention, more reasonable. That advantage also came with the numerous tactical possibilities that human master and familiar could fulfill in combat situations.

Sadly, while the pinkette could drone on and on about how a human familiar was at least useful in a sense, her peers would be in major disagreement. In her mind, she could even seen them laughing at the sight and sound of her defending her familiar. They'll probably even see her attempt as a way for her to cover up her failure as a Zero.

A sad reality she'll have to face is that she can never come to defense of her familiar, or Zacharie, unless he does something to prove himself to be above her peers' familiars.

And that is going to be a problem for her seeing as how he doesn't appear to be anything more than plebian wearing a mask.

 _"Then again, maybe I should give it more time…"_ She thought as she looked out of her window. _"After all, he's only gotten here. So he might have more to show than he looks…"_ The pinkette then turned her glance towards Zacharie's backpack, which she had already taken note of already.

Louise doesn't intend to pry into the backpack but her curiosity grew towards it as so did her questioning towards Zacharie's identity. She narrowed her eyes towards the backpack slightly with a small curious gleam in her eyes.

 _"Just what are you hiding?"_

* * *

For what felt like almost an hour, Zacharie found himself circling around the grounds of Tristain's Magic Academy. He wanted to ask for help earlier but the only choices he had were his master, the blond mophead with the brunette, and a peculiar redhead sitting in the fountain in the hallway with another student. Then again, he didn't count on any of them to give him a proper answer as his experiences with those caped teenagers tell him that most of them are as haughty and prideful as they come; which in turn would imply that they've never ever touched their own dirty laundry in their whole life.

Zacharie sighed. He needed help, but it should be from someone who's at least familiar with the grounds of the academy or maybe someone who runs the place. He assumed that people were at least working there to keep it running, similar to his Zone's factories and the Elsens.

From the corner of his eye, the masked merchant spotted a peculiar figure walking. The figure was young, having black hair and blue eyes, plus a feminine figure. She wore an outfit different from the caped teenagers from earlier, indicating that she must either be a visitor or someone who works here. Zacharie was leaning, and pretty much hoping, that the latter was true.

With his master's dirty laundry in hand, the masked merchant made his way towards the peculiar figure.

"Excuse me," Zacharie greeted as the peculiar figure, who was dusting off someone's old bust, turned to him. "Would you mind telling me where I could wash these clothes?" The masked merchant asked.

"Yes," The peculiar figure nodded to Zacharie. "Follow me." She gestured to him before she walked towards a small fountain-like structure that sat besides a small building. "Do you need any help in washing those?"

"All help would be appreciated," Zacharie answered as both of them slowly started washing the clothes.

As they were cleaning out Louise's laundry, Zacharie's had to keep his sleeves rolled up in order to keep them dry. He followed through the steps that the peculiar figure was showing him and though he knew how to wash his own clothes, he never had the opportunity to wash other people's clothing before. He also took note of how different the water please compared to water. In contrast to the warm plastic, the water was cool and was seemingly much cleaner.

On the other hand, the peculiar figure took note of a few things while she was helping him with cleaning the laundry. Among all things, she noted the runes that were written on his left hand.

Once they were done washing and rinsing the clothes, Zacharie and the peculiar figure hung the clothes to dry them off.

"There, they should be dry before sunrise, make sure to not forget about them." The peculiar figure said.

"Yes, and thank you for your help." Zacharie said.

"It's no problem," She beamed at the masked merchant with a smile. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to be the familiar Miss Vallière summoned earlier?" She gave him a curious look.

"Why yes, I am," Zacharie wasn't too surprised that she knew but he was perplexed how she did. "How did you know about that?" He asked.

"It's been rumored all over the academy that a peasant was summoned as a familiar."

"I see…" Zacharie responded to her with a slight hum. If rumors could spread that quickly around here then it wouldn't be a surprise to the masked merchant that everyone in vicinity of this kingdom knew about him in following week. "Well in any case, I'm Zacharie, salut." The masked merchant gave her a courteous bow.

"I am Siesta," She beamed him another smile, which made the masked merchant feel a little shy because of how adorable she looked while she did so. "And I suppose you're already familiar with your master?"

"In more ways than one," Zacharie answered her with a light shrug. "To be fair, there hasn't be exactly enough time for me to get to know my master better, but at the same time, I think any other person who'd be her familiar would've rebelled against her or ran away from her at this point."

"Well, I do serve her very often," The maid giggled at thought. "And she is like most of the students who study here…"

"Haughty, prissy, and beaming with so much pride that it's brighter than the sun?" Zacharie jokingly asked with a chuckle which earned him an honest laugh from the maid.

"Yes!" She answered with laughter.

"And why does she refer to me as peasant, if you don't mind me asking?" The masked merchant inquired.

"You're really not familiar with that?" Siesta's question was answered with Zacharie shaking his head. "Well, to put it simply; nobles are the people who can use magic, while peasants can't." She summed up.

"I see…" Zacharie took a minute and a few moments to ponder on Siesta's words. He could only take a guess that nobles stand higher in their social hierarchy while the peasants are at the bottom. "So I'll take a guess that you aren't a noble?"

"Yes," Siesta nodded. "I have the honor of serving at the academy, as a peasant."

"And I also guess that nobles stand above the peasants as a sign of them being able to cast magic, correct?"

"Yes."

"And judging by how my master dreads the fact that I, a peasant, am her familiar and by how another student spoke to me earlier, I'm guessing peasants are pretty much looked down upon by most nobles in society, am I correct?"

"Yes." Siesta's tone shifted slightly with a sigh. Zacharie knew that he was treading in a particularly sharp territory with that kind of question.

"Alright then." With that, he decided to drop the topic. He'll ponder on about it later but as of now, he was glad that he was done with the laundry. "Thanks for your help, Siesta," Under his mask he was smiling towards the maid. He appreciated her assistance so to say.

"You're welcome, Mister Zacharie." Siesta gave him a bow.

"Drop the mister; I think formalities towards me are unnecessary," Zacharie said before he waved the maid goodbye and started walking towards the direction of his master's dormitory.

The masked merchant got back to the dormitory and made his way back to her room. Once he reached and entered the room, he saw that his pinkette master was already asleep. He shook his head before he approached his backpack.

Opening the backpack, he decided to take a look of what merchandise he was able to carry. He had no plans of commercializing them but rather, they were going to be saved for personal use. Since this world was different, he had no idea of what to expect or if he could even manufacture more of them.

Zacharie was relieved to see that he had two baseball bats inside the bag and a few pieces of Abaddon's meat. The most abundant item in his bag, however, were the lowest tier of the tickets; the Luck Tickets.

After making sure that the arrangement and quantity of his items were the same when he left his home, the masked merchant quickly zipped his backpack up. It was already quite dark in the room thanks to the fact that his master turned the lamp off. Luckily, the moon, rather _moons_ , helped him by providing some light.

Zacharie made note of the two moons and their colors, with the larger one being blue and the smaller one being pink.

 _"Quite strange, indeed…"_ The masked merchant thought as his sights were aimed out the window.

Zacharie then decided to take a rest on the hay pile he was lying on earlier. With his back against the floor layered by the hay pile and his mask taken off, he stared up at the ceiling as he felt himself slowly falling asleep.

* * *

Louise slowly woke up in her bed a noisy stir. The pinkette sat up on her with a stretch of her arms and a yawn. Her pink eyes were then driven towards the masked man reading a book on the hay pile right beside her.

 _"Oh… so that wasn't a dream."_ She huffed at the back of her mind as the memories of her summoning the masked man as her familiar were solidified once more. Her attention was then brought to the folded clothes that were on her room table. _"He at least obeyed that command, that's a start for him."_ She sighed right before she spoke.

"Familiar." The pinkette was met with a mask from her familiar turned towards her. After that, he stood up from his place, grabbed her clothes from the table, and handed them to her. Louise was taken aback slightly by her familiar's preparedness. "Thank you," He acknowledged her thanks with a nod before she stood up from her bed.

Zacharie glanced towards the window as Louise put on her undergarments. After a few moments he then heard her call to him.

"Familiar, help me get dressed," The pinkette ordered as the masked merchant stood up to comply. He managed to quickly slide her uniform on before she wore the cape over. Whilst he was being obedient, Louise couldn't help but wonder why he was being so quiet. "Thank you," She gave him her word of thanks. "Now follow me for breakfast," She commanded as she unlocked the door through the knob with Zacharie right behind her.

Zacharie was obeying the pinkette's commands as he had settled down to the fact that in order for him to be able to gain knowledge of the world around him, he'd have to play along and follow his master. Since she was closest local person he knew, she sufficed for the role. Not to mention, she was willing to answer his question if he was willing to follow through her commands.

Though the masked merchant isn't just doing it for his desire to get out of Halkeginia, he at least had some consideration for the pinkette. His first impression of Louise could still use some bright improvement.

* * *

The two of them made it to the so-called banquet hall and Zacharie had to admit, he has never seen a place like it. The banquet hall was twice as large as one of Zone 3's factories and could seemingly fit three whole sugar ovens with a few spaces to spare. The design of the hall caught his eye as well, instead of a single color, there was a variety, ranging from wooden brown to marble white, instead of a monochromatic experience.

Once Louise was able to find a seat, Zacharie pulled it out and gestured for her to sit down. The pinkette sat on the chair right before the masked merchant turned to the direction of the exit.

"Familiar, where are you going?" Louise asked as Zacharie was slowly walking off.

"Outside, master, just going to catch some fresh air," He was quick to make a reason, though it was true considering it isn't dark.

"Don't you need to eat breakfast?" The pinkette asked, showing a face of slight concern towards him. Keyword is _slight._

"No, thank you, master," Her familiar responded. "But if it's not too much trouble to answer, where can I get a glass of water?"

"Just ask one of the maids to help you out with that," His master answered with a slightly confused tone.

"Thank you, I'll wait for you outside, master," With that, Zacharie started walking towards the door, leaving his master a little confused but also relieved.

* * *

Before the masked merchant vacated the premises of the banquet hall, he heard the student utter some sort prayer to a figure named Brmir. He'd have to add that name to the list of questions for his master later. Though he assumed that this Brmir would be Queen Eloha's counterpart in this world.

Zacharie sat outside of the banquet hall with his back leaning against the wall. He was currently thinking about his circumstance, same as last night, and how he could possibly know more about the world; namely people he could ask questions to besides his master.

From the top of his head, Zacharie saw two candidates; it was either Siesta or that balding man from yesterday. Siesta was nice and seemed to be approachable when it came to questions plus she works in the academy, so he assumed that she knew a lot about the place. The balding man comes to his mind not only because he was able to answer one of masked merchant's questions right before he was contracted to be a familiar but also because the man had an aura of authority around him plus the different clothing from the students made Zacharie think that he too must work in the academy.

 _"Perhaps I could go look for him later,"_ Zacharie thought.

Zacharie's train of thought was then broken when he saw a large, red creature approach him. Said red creature was looking at him curiously with green eyes and a slowly wagging tail that had a small flame ignited on its end. It reminded the masked merchant one of the many many kinds of specters he had encountered before.

Zacharie didn't feel or see any sort of hostility in the eyes of the creature, so he opted to slowly move his hand towards it before giving a light pat on the middle of its nose and eyes. The creature didn't fight back and instead just stood still as the masked merchant patted away. He assumed that the creature was another student's familiar otherwise he'd have more questions as to why a non-bipedal, reptile-like creature was a student in the academy.

It wasn't until an hour later when Zacharie saw students coming out of the banquet hall. By that time, the flaming creature had already wandered off and the masked merchant was already left to himself. Fortunately, or unfortunately rather, he wasn't left alone for long, as he saw a familiar head of pink hair exit the hall as well. A moment later, she came his way and approached him.

"How was your breakfast, master?" The masked merchant asked the pinkette.

"It was fine," Apart from the many students that were whispering gossip around her and the slight bit of laughs aimed at her, Louise thought that it was sufficient.

"So, I suppose you have classes to attend to now, eh?" Zacharie stood up from his spot, stretching out his arms in front of his master.

She shook her head. "No, the second years have been given a day off today to interact with their familiars," The opportunity given to her today would seem a little awkward considering how instead of an animal, she would be talking with a human.

In the back of his mind, Zacharie could see himself frowning a little behind his mask as an opportunity to learn a little more about the world he's in would be more than welcome to him.

Then again, this could be his chance to actually express how much he disagrees with his master's practice of treating him like an animal. True, she seemed like she wasn't expecting a human to be her familiar, based on how everyone else's familiar is an animal, but it's not an excuse for her not to respect him as a person. He may have only been here for one night but her haughty attitude makes it seem like he's been for more than a week.

"I see," The masked merchant replied. "So where would this interaction take place, master?" On a side note, he has to tell her that he doesn't want to refer to her as _master_ all the time as it gets on his nerves quite a bit.

"Just outside of the classrooms actually," Louise pointed to the direction of a small gathering of second year students not far from them. "Come on, follow me." The pinkette urged her sweater-clad familiar to follow.

Zacharie followed right behind her after a nod.

They went to the small gathering of second year students and Zacharie was actually surprised to see the variety of familiars present around him. From owls, to large reptiles, to even a strange floating eyeball; the masked merchant took note of their behaviors, mostly submissive towards their respective masters. The hair colors of the students now actually bothered him a little.

Once they were able to find vacant chairs and a clear table, Louise and Zacharie took their seats and looked at each other for a moment.

"You know, you should take that mask off." Louise pointed out as he observed his facial features. "Why do you always wear it around anyways?"

"I guess you could say that it's a reminder of myself," And a very vivid one at that. "I will not disclose it clearly for now but this mask I'm currently wearing serves as a mirror to one of my greatest achievements, _mi amigo_." The masked merchant trailed off.

"What does that even mean?!" Louise demanded as she looked a little steamed. All she wanted was a simple answer and she got a riddle instead. The pinkette then let out a sigh, but she could relent with her curiosity for now, which got Zacharie to raise an eyebrow at her. "I suppose I could let you keep that a secret for now, not that it's important; it's just something I wanted to ask you."

"Alright then," As Zacharie was about to ask his master a question, he saw a familiar head of brown hair and a familiar brown cape roaming around the area with a large basket in her hand.

The masked merchant remembered that it was the same brunette that was with the blonde mophead last night. The expression in her face made it seem like she was a little lost. After a few moments later, another familiar head came into view, it was Siesta. The brunette's dilemma was settled by the maid before Siesta went back to serving tea and cakes to the students. At least Zacharie's assumption was confirmed that she did work here.

"Hey!" Louise fumed. "What were you looking at over there?" The masked merchant didn't even notice that his mind wandered off from his conversation with his master.

"Nothing, just a few familiar faces from last night," The masked merchant answered. "So I suppose you expect me to act as some sort of servant of yours, master?" Zacharie contained a little bit of sarcastic venom as he spoke.

"What else?" Louise almost took his comment offensively, but she wouldn't want to be the mage with a thin skin. She did sense his sarcasm though. "You as my familiar is bound to me as my servant until death," The pinkette huffed. "I'm surprised you've never heard of such traditions, you must either come from another world or you're just plain ignorant.

Zacharie raised an eyebrow. She accidentally made a right guess. Props to her, but then again, keeping her in the dark for now might be necessary.

"Right, listen her—" The masked merchant would've begun his long rant for his master when he heard a scream and the sound of two slaps in the distance from where he sat. His gray eyes darted to the source of the commotion when he saw four people particularly in the middle of it; Siesta, the blond mophead, the brown-caped brunette, and a blonde ring-haired lady who looked positively furious.

The scene didn't last any longer, with the fury-filled blonde screaming something at the mophead, the brunette seemingly distressed in tears, and both of them leaving with a stomp of their feet. However, Zacharie's eye was deadlocked when the mophead approached Siesta and gave her a slap along with a forceful shove. Not even showing a semblance of hesitation, the masked merchant simply stood up from his chair, which in turn caught Louise's attention.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Silence was her answer from him, as she her familiar walk over towards the scene with Guiche and the maid. _"What is that masked idiot thinking!?"_ Louise already had a guess on what her familiar intended but she feared that her familiar was actually going to push through with it. She prayed to Brmir that he wouldn't.

Once Zacharie was close enough to the scene, he immediately stepped in front of Siesta, coming to her defense before grabbing Guiche's right arm and firmly holding it over his blonde mophead.

"Hey! Let go!" The blonde mophead struggled but the masked merchant wasn't seemingly going to budge. Zacharie's action seemingly shocked the other students, with a few of them gasping at what he had done. Even Siesta was caught off guard.

It didn't take Guiche long to get away from Zacharie's hold but the vice grip was telling him that the masked merchant was in a particular mood to avenge the commoner maid. Then again, he was in no particular mood either.

"Step away, you commoner!" Guiche demanded. "This maid had broken the hearts of two ladies and needs to be taught a lesson!" As angry as the blonde mophead was, Zacharie couldn't help think that his dramatics were a little too much.

"Oh? and would you mind elaborating on the whole incident?" Even if his voice was tranquil, Zacharie was slightly livid in the back of his mind. With the short time span he had met Siesta, he definitely has no clue what she'd be capable, but to go that far to break the hearts of two ladies? The masked merchant knew she wouldn't be the type.

Guiche was ticked off a step further. "What happened does not concern you, commoner. Now step aside, unless you want to be the one to take responsibility for her action?" Even with his mask on, the smugness was all for Zacharie to see.

"Very well, I will then." The crowd around both of, along with Louise and Siesta, was surprised with Zacharie non-hesitant answer. "I'll answer for the sanction of her action, what'll it be?" He gestured his hand to the blonde mophead.

Guiche's smug grin grew a little bigger. "Very well, then you must answer to me through a duel." The declaration got the crowd riled up. "Meet me at Vestri Court," With that, the blonde mophead waved his rose goodbye, leaving Zacharie confused right as his master approached him.

The masked merchant saw the look on Louise's face; it was a mix of being worried and somewhat angry.

"You idiot!" Welp, it just leaned on the latter now. "A commoner like you wouldn't stand a chance against a noble!" A fearful concern was audibly visible in her tone; he just couldn't hear it over her prideful bearing.

Zacharie could only raise an eyebrow as she forcefully tugged on his sleeve, trying to drag him off somewhere but to no avail.

"Go apologize to him right now!" The pinkette thought of the alternative solution, maybe Guiche was going to put this behind him if her familiar was to bend a knee for him.

"No. I've nothing to apologize to him for," Shaking his head in disagreement; the masked merchant pulled his sleeve out of Louise's grasp as she was taken aback by his sudden shift in tone. He approached a particularly well-rounded, blonde boy with an owl perched on his shoulder. "Excuse me," Zacharie started. "Where is the Vestri Court?"

"Oh, over there," The blonde boy in question pointed northwards. "That way," He repeated.

"Malicorne!" Louise huffed as her familiar simply took the directions in.

"Thank you," With that, the masked merchant simply walked off as some of the students were either following him or whispering around him.

"Oh this will be such a sight!" Malicorne exclaimed.

Louise's mood sunk to a slightly angrier level as she simply followed her familiar, contemplating on how he's been more than disobedient towards her so far.

* * *

The merchant clad in the toad mask made to the Vestri Court and what received him was a fairly large gathering of students. Zacharie didn't have a clue to what extent of this so-called 'duel' affected but with this size of a crowd, he had to bet that it could either be a duel of pride and reputation, as was the usual case for duels. Yet a creeping feeling of insecurity crept in his stomach that this duel isn't merely for fun.

"I praise you for actually showing and not running away," Guiche taunted as he stood distantly in front of Zacharie.

"You offered this duel, right? And I will live up to the commitment of answering for the sake of my friend," Even though his life was something he valued, Zacharie couldn't deny the fact that jumped the call to take the blame for Siesta because he saw her getting hurt.

"Wait!" Louise exclaimed as she ran towards Guiche. "That's enough, Guiche! You know duels are forbidden here!" She argued as she glanced towards her familiar.

"Only duels between two nobles are forbidden," Guiche clarified to the pinkette. "He is a familiar and a common, so there are no problems here."

Underneath his mask, Zacharie was both thankful and confused towards the information he was hearing. Who knew that he could actually pick something up just by being involved in a duel?

"That's because… nothing like this has ever happened before…" Louise's voice and tone fell quieter as she seemed slightly embarrassed.

"Hm? Louise, can it be that you are actually attracted to this peasant?" Guiche teased with a dry grin.

"What are you talking about?!" The only reaction the mophead got from the pinkette was above average irritation with a reddish face. "No master would just sit on the side to watch and let her familiar get beaten to a heap!" She retorted as she hoped that it would get him to stop.

"Hmpf. No matter what you say, Louise," Guiche responded by raising his rose wand upwards before swishing it to his front, causing a single petal from it to drop to the ground. Louise, seeing how she was unable to stop the mophead, quickly jogged back to the sidelines.

After the petal made contact with the dirt, a bright circle of appeared momentarily and caught Zacharie's attention. As the light faded away the masked merchant that something was now standing in its place; a strange humanoid creature that resembled a female knight's armor, wearing some sort of white cloth for a skirt on its lower torso, and a peculiarly large spear-lance in its right hand. It was a metallic blue-green in color and had its helmet decorated with wings.

That's when Zacharie placed another piece of this duel.

"I am Guiche the Bronze," The mophead introduced himself, though this time using his runic name. "Therefore, a bronze golem, a Valkyrie, will be your opponent." Zacharie should have known. Oh well, proxy duels were a thing back then too.

Without warning, the Valkyrie sped up and raised its free fist up to give Zacharie a quick hook to the guts. Seeing this, the masked merchant evaded the metallic fist by swiftly jumping and rolling to the side. Zacharie composed himself as his opponent turned its sights towards him.

The golem armed its spear upwards before making a fast charge towards the masked merchant. Instead of opting to dodge the incoming Valkyrie, Zacharie instead thought of a better way for him to stop this proxy duel to its tracks. Zacharie just stood still in the path of the incoming attacker as he formed a fist with his right hand. Then as the spear was right in his reach, the masked merchant firmly grabbed the area around the tip with his left hand.

Zacharie then instantly summoned his sword in his right hand before he let the Valkyrie zoom towards him until they met face to face. Taking the moment to strike, the masked swung his sword's edge towards the golem's neck, slicing through the metal like paper.

The spear just went right past his side with Zacharie freeing it from his hold. With his blade still in his hand, he went for a defensive stance as the Valkyrie's head was toppled right off its body, shocking and riling the up crowd around him. A few of the students were murmuring as Louise took some time to process what just happened.

 _"H-he just cut golem's head clean off!"_ She contemplated as she stared at her familiar. _"And where did he get that sword?!"_ Her suspicion was on two things, the blade could've come from his backpack or he could've stolen it from someone. After all, he was a commoner, there was no way he could've pulled a blade out thin air, he didn't have magic to begin with.

Guiche, bearing a panicked expression in his face, composed himself right as he swung his rose twice, as six petals fell on the ground. The six petals resulted into six golems rising, all holding the same polearm from before and having the same look from before.

Unfazed by such a display of escalation, Zacharie brought his left arm upward in front of him as his right slowly went right behind him. The six golems then charged towards him, with their spears defensively armed. Aiming from their mophead of a master, the masked merchant responded by charging towards them as well.

The first two of the six golems at the front were given the same treatment as the first golem, being decapitated quickly by a swift swing from Zacharie's blade to their necks. The remaining golems tried to skewer the masked merchant only to have their attacks evaded and one of them getting toppled over by a roll kick.

Zacharie's evasion placed him in a fair distance with the Valkyries, however, the remaining three of the six thought of a tactical approach as the three of them split up into different directions. The masked merchant saw that the incoming middle one was the most vulnerable. He drew his right arm and blade back right before he spun and horizontally threw his sword towards the vulnerable golem, resulting in its torso being cut in half.

The remaining two golems nearly caught the masked merchant by surprise with a side-by-side spear ambush charge, only to have it turned down with a quick roll. Zacharie noticed the Valkyrie he toppled over having trouble standing up as his sword swiftly returned in his hand. The masked merchant quickly ran to the downed golem before slicing its head vertically in half with his sword.

The last two golems then made their last call by charging towards Zacharie while following each other. Grinning at this underneath his mask, the masked merchant brought his sword to his left hand, grasping firmly and tightly before charging towards the two opponents at a fast pace.

As the two golems and Zacharie were closing in each other, the masked merchant then suddenly took a small leap off the ground and right onto the metallic spear of the first golem. The masked merchant then had his sword stab right through the first golem face which in turn skewered the second golem's head altogether. With his attack, the two golems quickly went limp as Zacharie went down with their spears.

The masked merchant then grabbed one of the fallen golem's head before throwing it towards quickly Guiche, who was preparing to swing his rose once more.

"Oof!" The ironic attack hit the blonde mophead with such a velocity that it seemingly knocked him down on the ground, causing him to drop his rose in pain.

Zacharie quickly jogged his way towards the downed noble and pointed the edge of his blade towards him, inciting more panic from blonde.

"Do you yield?" The masked merchant asked as he kicked the blonde mophead down further, stopping any attempt he had at getting up.

"I-I-I yield!" Guiche hesitantly responded before he felt the bottom of a sword handle being swung against his temple, knocking him out instantly.

As Guiche admitted his defeat against the commoner, the crowd around them cheered, with Siesta looking over curiously, a certain redhead developing an interest towards the masked man, and a peculiar pinkette who was processing and thinking over the whole thing in shock.

Zacharie stood up straight as he looked at his foe one last time before turning back to Louise, who in turn processed only a few words in her mind.

 _"What in the name of Brmir have I summoned?!"_


End file.
